9th Circuit Court of Appeals to hold special sitting at UH law school

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear oral arguments this week in Honolulu, including at the UH Manoa campus. The court will sit February 9 and 11 at the Ninth Circuit Courtroom, and hold a special sitting Friday, February 13, at the William S. Richardson School of Law.

A three-judge panel--consisting of Circuit Judges Stephen Reinhardt of Los Angeles and Sidney R. Thomas of Billings, Montana, and Senior Circuit Judge Melvin Brunetti of Reno--will hear appeals of decisions by the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii and the federal Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The cases involve habeas, criminal, civil rights, bankruptcy, diversity, immigration, tax, civil, and federal appeals.

The 9th Circuit Courtroom is located at 1132 Bishop Street, sixth floor. Oral arguments on February 9 and 11 begin at 9 a.m. in the sixth-floor Courtroom. A photo ID is required for access into courtroom. The law school sitting on February 13 will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Moot Courtroom, 2515 Dole Street.

Among the cases on the docket are:

Robinson v. Tripler Army Medical - Rufus Robinson and Gretchen M. Robinson appeal pro se the Hawaii district court‘s dismissal in Robinsons‘ action arising from the death of their newborn grandson, who had been born at the Tripler Army Medical Center.

United States v. Kakinami - Leslie A. Kakinami, a federal prisoner, appeals the Hawaii district court‘s denial of her motion to vacate her 69-month sentence based on her guilty plea to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Tangonan v. Mukasey - Dionicio Cadiz Tangonan, native and citizen of the Philippines, petitions for review of the BIA dismissal of his appeal of an immigration judge‘s decision denying his request to terminate removal proceedings. The immigration judge found that Tangonan was removable due to his convictions for sexual assault and knowingly subjecting a child under 14 years old to sexual contact.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals of cases decided by federal agencies and federal trial courts in nine western states and two Pacific Island jurisdictions. The court normally meets monthly in Seattle, San Francisco and Pasadena, every other month in Portland, twice per year in Honolulu and once in Anchorage. A complete schedule of cases is available online at http://www.ca9.us.courts.gov.